The Enforcement Directorate's Kochi Zonal Office announced that properties valued at approximately Rs 120.20 million had been attached from the shipyard company under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). According to an official release from the central agency, the attached properties comprised 35 movable properties, including securities, imported machinery, bank balances, and 2 landing barges valued at Rs 100.07 million, along with 4 immovable properties valued at Rs 20.13 million. The release stated that on May 10, ED Kochi provisionally attached properties worth Rs 120.20 million, which included 35 movable properties such as securities, imported machinery, bank balances, and 2 landing barges valued at Rs 100.07 million, and 4 immovable properties valued at Rs 20.13 million, from Vipul Shipyard, Goa, Vipul Shipping Engineering Works, Goa, and its directors under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. ED initiated the investigation based on a charge sheet filed by CBI, under various sections of IPC, 1860, which are scheduled offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. It was observed from the charge sheet filed by CBI, Cochin, that during the period of 2004-2010, JVS Rao, the then Vice President, SCIL Mumbai, had entered into a criminal conspiracy with Vipul Shipyard, Goa (VSPL), and its directors regarding the awarding of Ship Building contracts to VSPL, Goa, for constructing six 200-passenger capacity landing barges for Union Territory Lakshadweep (UTL). In pursuance of the said criminal conspiracy, a ship-building contract was awarded to an ineligible firm, namely VSPL, Goa, which had not participated in the tender process, had inadequate infrastructure, insufficient financial position, and lacked any previous experience in the construction of similar vessels. Consequently, VSPL, Goa, failed to construct the landing barges following the technical specifications (the length of the draft increased from 0.7 meters to 1 meter, and the speed reduced from 8 Knots to 5 Knots), and as a result, the vessels could not meet the buyer's requirements. Furthermore, the builder was unable to deliver the vessels within the stipulated period, and currently, the vessel remains in the custody of the builder. This resulted in a revenue loss of approximately Rs 120.20 million sustained by the PSU. ED's investigation revealed that the accused entity and its directors fraudulently obtained the shipbuilding contract from SCIL by forging documents and thereby received nearly Rs 120.20 million from SCIL without renewing the bank guarantee.